The beginning of this month was a struggle. I was dealing with some work drama, and generally just annoyed by all the COVID anniversary content that was popping up everywhere (like we need to be reminded we’ve been stuck inside for one year). Luckily the month ended on a much better note with both my parents and my Aunt Mary vaccinated! Yay! There wasn’t much happening in the kitchen, but here’s a short recap:

  • I declared a kitchen strike the first week of the month because I just couldn’t do another dish, cook another meal or roast another vegetable. I ate some great takeout from Colossus and many PB&Js. I always think of Deb‘s advice when it comes to cooking ruts; just step away. Give yourself a break for a bit, and the inspiration and motivation to cook will naturally return. I did just that.
  • To that end, I had “Florida Week” soon after to ease my way back into the kitchen. I cooked a bunch of things we usually eat when I go to stay with my parents: BLTs with Sweet Potato Fries, Swedish Meatballs and Wild Rice, Sauteed Fish with Rice and Veggies, plus a take-out burger. More all on this below.
  • Kristine and I have started doing weekly masked-up walks outside and during one recent walk, we were reminiscing about this restaurant we used to go to in Burlington called Sweet Smoke. It was THE BEST and we would go all the time and order Chicken Tortilla Soup and Pulled Pork Sandwiches. I was feeling inspired so I attempted to make my own soup based off a recipe I saw Gaby make on one of her IG Lives. It didn’t go well for me. It was like salsa soup and was missing the general smokiness and deep flavour I remember. The best part was I made a batch of Alison Roman’s cornbread to go with it which was pretty good.
  • My neighbour Cathy asked me to make her a cake with a “horticulture” theme as a congratulations cake for her partner. I came up with the cake you see above: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, Oreo “dirt” and “carrots” which were strawberries dipped in orange candy melts. I thought I was pretty clever for using a popsicle stick like a garden marker to write Congratulations.
  • And now the regular recap of what I was cooking this month, broken down into three categories:
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Sloppy Janes [OMG I forgot how good these are! I ate them with a quick ‘slaw and my homemade dill pickles on the side], Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Bowls, Cacio e Pepe
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes:  Coconut Curry Salmon
  • New things that I tried and liked: I tried Gaby’s recipe for Swedish Meatballs and LOVED it; I made this Baked Feta with Tomatoes & Chickpeas (a riff on the famous Tik Tok Pasta) and will definitely make it again but maybe with goat cheese next time
  • Take-out: I tried Burger’s Priest for the first time; It was okay, but you know by the time it was delivered everything was kind of lukewarm, the lettuce was wilted and it’s just not the same.

One housekeeping note: Something on the back end of the blog needs to be updated, which is why all the links are currently broken and you can’t comment. If you’re looking for a recipe just email me and I’ll send it to you!

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • My favourite Raptor, Norm Powell, got traded and I was so sad to see him go. I may also have been lying on my couch crying a bit as the seconds to the trade deadline counted down and we weren’t sure if the Raptors were also going to trade away Kyle Lowry. THEY DIDN’T and it was a relief. Just not ready to deal with that yet.
  • I watched a bunch of garbage on Netflix this month (Marriage or Mortgage, Ginny & Georgia), but I did bust out a bunch of old DVDs from the archives in an effort to watch fun things that would make me laugh: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Bring It On, Clueless, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and both Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants movies.
  • The Planet Byn Bookclub read Where the Crawdads Sing (nothing like being 5 years late to an internet trend), and the consensus was we liked it. It was a quick read, and the murder mystery component propelled me to finish it in just a couple of days. Next up: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters.

Flashback!